Pz. Kpfw. III Ausf L

First written: January 16th, 2009 | Updated: November 7th, 2009

Gemany's  medium tank

I bought this kit a while ago and now it's time to build it. I've yet to build one model based on this chassis, in spite of having several of them, from the Stug III B, G to a couple of versions of the Pz III.

It's a much more elegant chassis than the bulky and less elegant Pz IV and one of the most representative German tanks of WWII.

I've decided to do a whitewashed German Grey version, although the model includes DAK versions and plain Grey versions. But I like a good challenge and I need to test other techniques. This time the hair spray technique. If you want to see really good examples of white washed models using this technique just have a look in this site (Michael Rinaldi). An amazing lesson on how to produce works of srt in modeling.

The kit

This is a fairly recent release from Dragon and according to the reviews a very good one.You can have a very good idea of what kit I'm talking about in the Military Modelling site (Pz Kpfw. III J review).

In this log I will just be posting information about the build that I hope to start very soon. Well, as soon as I decide which version to do.

The Pz III appeared after the Pz IV and existed in many variants, ranging from A to N. There were short medium and long barrel versions and the J in particular could be found in various combinations.

This kit allows the build of medium and long barreled versions with or without the additional armor that some versions had on the front of the driver's deck and mantlet.

I will do a long barreled version because I bought the fabulous barrel from Aber. I'm not sure about the rest. The versions possible on this kit range from the whitewashed tanks on the Eastern front to North Africa and are no less than 8 different tanks.

First impressions

I started the build today (18-1-2009). The first thing that is immediately apparent is the quality of the detail. Stunning. The lower hull comes in one piece and all the small details, bolts and welds are really an example of what a good model can be.

Building the suspension is fairly straightforward. And it would be even better if the torsion bars weren't there. I can't really understand why the kit includes a complete set of torsion bars, with detailed holders, if the suspension arms are installed static and there is no indication on the instruction sheet to install them movable. Is Dragon planning on a complete interior version? Maybe.

Anyway, the parts have no flash whatsoever, they have remarkable detail and they fit together like a dream.

Building 

ABER PE on the mantlet extra armor

20-1-2009 – The more build this model the happier I am with it's quality. It's amazing how much these kits have improved in 6-7 years. The molding is absolutely fantastic and the fit of intricate parts is amazing. The front deck and the fenders just snap together like they were just one part. Dragon is still a little behind Tasca but it's very very close. In barely 2-3 hours work I managed to reach a point where the lower hull, fenders, upper deck ans suspension are complete.

Pay attention to the idlers when assembling them. They consist of two halves and two PE rings (glued to each of the halves). When I put the two halves together the spokes didn't align (???). Somehow, the locating lug on one of the halves is out of place. I readjusted the slot in order to make them aligned.

If it wasn't for the delicate and tedious task of handling all the Aber PE I believe that this kit would be one of my fastest builds.

The Aber PE is awesome as usual. What's not so great about it are the instructions. This is probably the first example of Aber instructions where some details are really missing. The drawings are vague and I guess that some of the parts have to be positioned by using reference photos.

Building… more

27-1-2009 – Most of the work is done. The model is almost ready for the primer coat. But yesterday I had a fight with an unusual contender – Aber. For some reason the Aber set for this kit is not up to the quality I've seen in other PE sets. The extra armor over the mantlet had to be filed with a Dremel in order to fit it's intended location. I built it before putting it in place. All the parts were soldered and I'm glad I used solder for the job, because if they were just glued everything would just come apart.

 

After measuring and test fitting several times I marked the places where the material needed to be removed. It's now in place but it was so troublesome that I considered using the plastic parts instead.

On the positive side there are the tracks. They are of the individual link type and it was the fastest track build I've ever done. It just took a little less than half an hour to do a complete track. However the instructions say you need 98 links per side, and I found that 94-95 links are more than enough. You'll end up with a totally unrealistic sag if you use the 98 links.

The turret and commander cupola were also very easy to assemble. With this kit is just a matter of removing the sprue attachments and glue. Everything fits just right. I have to say that the kit is flawless regarding fit of parts and molding. So much that I 'm considering using the plastic molded tow cables instead of diving into the incredibly complicated Aber PE clamps for securing them. I guess that I'll have enough on my hands with the jack support. It really looks awful to build.

Building… even more

Primer applied and ready for paint

8-2-2009 – The kit is complete plastic wise. I applied the coat of primer to make everything look even and to spot the potential problems that can be missed when we are looking at different materials and colors.

 

I decided to use a lot of plastic parts instead of going the PE route. Some of the details were so small and complicated that it made no sense to spend hours doing them when we couldn't see them on the final model. The supports for the towing cables are a perfect example of that.

I added the front light wiring using stretched sprue and the small PE clips that come in the Aber PE set. Very nice effect. It looks way better. These wires are very visible on the tank and it would be a shame not to do them. After all, it was just under half an hour of work.

Painting

The base coat went very well. I used Vallejo Panzer Grey mixed with some white, to be covered with the white wash finish that this version is supposed to have.

I bought some hair spray and decided to have a try at the technique. The result was disaster. Somehow, every attempt that I made to remove "some" paint resulted in major peeling. Some places more than others but the final result was catastrophic.

At this point I had to decide if I was going to put the model in the bin or try to save it.

I decided that all the work I had done could not be destroyed without at least one try. The fact that I used hair spray helped a lot in saving it because I managed to peel the white paint off almost completely Some of the PE detail came loose and had to be re-glued but I managed to save the kit.

I'm not going to take any chances, so I'll try the white weathered look with another technique- Paint then chip. It it end badly the result will be what almost happened – throwing the kit to the garbage bin.

I'm not very happy with this experience but sometime along the way I guess we are destined to have a few of these

Follow up

27-02-2009 – I guess that I saved it. I'm not entirely sure how I managed to do it but the more I look to the model the more I think that it looks real good. When a mishap like I had happens it's a good policy to do other tasks and forget the model. When you return to it you'll see it under a different perspective. It's a fresh approach and probably you'll find the model to be quite nice. That's what I did with it. I was negatively biased because of the failure and I was not seeing that it was a very decent whitewashed model. It's not at the level of excellent white washed vehicles that you can see from the big names but it's good nonetheless.

I applied mud to the running gear and although it was a first for me it ended up very realistic. I used a special wall filler that is very light (foam) and does not crack. It was just a matter of achieving a good mud consistency and mix some pigments. It dries very fast (30 minutes – 1 hour) and it has the real mud look. Then it's just a matter of using different color pigments and fix them with turpentine or pigment fixer from MIG and the end result is nothing short of amazing.

I'm just doing the finishing touches on the model and I'm even considering doing a small base for display, but I still have to figure out the scenery for it and if it's worth the extra work.

Keep tuned, I'll have more pictures this weekend.

28-02-2009 – I couldn't help it. I had to finish this one asap and I guess I can breathe now. It seems saved and a good model after all. I had almost given up on this model because of the mishap with the hairspray method. I was really annoyed to throw away a model that was built with so much care and dedication. I removed everything I could and started all over again, this time without the hairspray. Instead I applied a white coat of paint and immediately after I started removing some areas with a wet brush. Because there was a coat of varnish underneath the process produced remarkable results. It resulted like the real thing – a washed away coat of white paint.

Finished

I just finished this superb Dragon Pz III. It was close to a disaster but I couldn't skip such a remarkable plastic kit. I did a lot of firsts with this one:

• First White washed model (the T70 doesn't really count)
• First Pz III
• First use of mud

Not bad for so many firsts, don't you think?

History

On January 11, 1934, following specifications laid down by Heinz Guderian, the Army Weapons Department drew up plans for a medium tank with a maximum weight of 24,000 kg and a top speed of 35 km/h. It was intended as the main tank of the German Panzer divisions, capable of engaging and destroying opposing tank forces.

Daimler-Benz, Krupp, MAN, and Rheinmetall all produced prototypes. Testing of the prototypes took place in 1936 and 1937, leading to the Daimler-Benz design being chosen for production. The first Panzer III A came off the assembly line in May 1937, and a total of ten, two of which were unarmed, were produced in 1937. Mass production of the tank, then in model III F, began in 1939.

Between 1937 and 1940, attempts were made to standardize parts between Krupp's Panzer IV and Daimler-Benz's Panzer III.

Much of the early development work on the Panzer III was a quest for a suitable suspension. Several varieties of leaf-spring suspensions were tried on Ausf A through D before the torsion-bar suspension of the Ausf E was standardized. The Panzer III, along with the Soviet KV heavy tank, was one of the first tanks to use this suspension design.

The Panzer III was intended as the primary battle tank of the German forces. It outclassed most of the tanks of the time. However, when it initially met the KV and T-34 tank designs it proved to be inferior. To meet the growing need to counter these tanks, the Panzer III was upgunned with the 50 mm KwK 39 L/60 and received more armor although this failed to effectively address the problem against the KV tank designs. As a result, several self propelled guns, as well as up gunned 75 mm KwK 40 L/43 and 75mm KwK 40 L/48 Panzer IV Ausf G were developed and produced.

In 1942, the Ausf N model of the Panzer III was created with a 75 mm KwK 37 L/24 cannon, a low-velocity gun designed for anti-infantry and close-support work. For defensive purposes however, it did carry a few rounds of hollow charge ammunition which could penetrate 70 mm to 100 mm of armor depending on the round's variant but these were strictly used for self-defense.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Pictures




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